


Life Finds a Way

by guineaDogs



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Isla Sorna (Jurassic Park), Jurassic Park AU, M/M, and have a dino baby, in the same vein as the movies ya feel, milder violence than what's in the movies but also....uh, sheith are dinosaurs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:49:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28724646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guineaDogs/pseuds/guineaDogs
Summary: Keith and Shiro want what every parent wants: to raise their child in a lovingly environment, to see them grow into adulthood, and to not be kidnapped by humans. And they're tyrannosaurs.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 45
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if this is the sort of thing I need to explain or justify, or just drop this weirdass fic here and let y'all wonder what I'm smoking. (But if you want to know the reasons why, guess who's been on a Jurassic Park binge.) There may be a few things that leave you going ???? but I ask you to just roll with it. Just think about the sort of DNA was used to create these genetically modified animals and remember, as Dr. Ian Malcolm likes to say, _life, uh...finds a way_.

**ISLA SORNA**  
**87 MILES WEST OF ISLA NUBLAR**

The king of the jungle sleeps on the forest bed, his rumbling snore muffled by the ferns and foliage around him. It's a simple life, and a dangerous one. He sleeps when he sleeps, he hunts or scavenges when he's hungry, he ventures to the river when he needs water. 

This is the way his life has been. Nice and good. 

It was a solitary existence for the longest time—following breaking out from a facility after a particularly strong hurricane—but he didn't mind that. He didn’t know any different so he relished in it, even. 

But that was before he met Shiro. 

It's hard to determine the passage of time when the seasons are 'rain' and 'more rain' and you're a tyrannosaur that has no concept of time beyond night and day. But he knows Shiro is the turning point for him. If he was okay before, he's great now. 

Their story is the typical territorial-dispute-to-mates variety, but now that they've made it to that stage in their relationship, there is nothing that Keith wouldn't do for him. He'll always protect him, even if Shiro doesn't need the help because he's just as capable, and Keith always sleeps better when he can smell him, and feel his large muscular body against his. 

Shiro is perfect and good. Best mate, impressive hunter—the scars marring his body prove it—and now an impeccable parent. 

When Egg arrived, they took turns ensuring it stayed warm and safe in the nest they built in their den by gently rotating it with their snouts and adding leaves and other vegetation to keep it sufficiently padded. Located deep in the forested part of their territory it was sheltered from the heaviest of rains and shielded from smaller, more foolish and opportunistic carnivores near the skeletal remains of an ankylosaurus. 

Shiro's dedication during these early stages tells Keith everything he needs to know. Unlike other tyrannosaurs, their Egg will stand a (highly likely) chance of surviving to adulthood if they have anything to say about it. 

It takes an age for Egg to incubate, but they are attentive all the while.

They sleep on the forest bed, curled up beside one another and awake to the sound of a soft chirping, and the look they share is the sort that only expecting parents can.  _ It's time.  _ Shiro and Keith get to their feet and position themselves on either side of the nest.

Their Egg, large and perfect, wiggles in the nest. The chirps come from beneath the shell as she works on breaking free. They coo encouragement, and Keith leans down, pressing his snout against the shell.

Everything within him wants to help her, but he knows this is one of many battles that must be hers and hers alone. She's strong enough to withstand it. 

He stays there, watching attentively until she frees herself. Hatchling offers a soft cry, pressing her small body against his snout. Keith snorts at her affectionately and licks her head. 

When he straightens, the first thing he does is rub his face alongside his mate's. They did so good. Hatchling is perfect, but he must find her food.

She will be hungry soon, and if she's to grow as big and strong as her parents, Hatchling will need so much food. He'll find her a stegosaurus or an ankylosaurus. No—he will kill an entire sauropod just for her. 

Keith runs off toward the grasslands, determined to Provide for his family.

And so it goes. 

Keith and Shiro Provide and Protect. Hatchling grows more and more with each meal and each passing day. It's not yet time for her to venture from the nest, and she still has much to learn, but they couldn't be more proud of her. 

But then the strange noises begin. 

Keith knows this jungle. He knows the grasslands and the beaches. He knows which creatures are a threat to them, and their territory, and which are not. But it's been so long since he's seen a human that he doesn't know what the bipedal two-bite sized creatures are with the larger  _ things _ that make so much noise.

They probably make delicious snacks, he decides from a vast distance, so well hidden that the creatures don't know they're being watched. 

He doesn't think much of it after that. There's a cliff separating him from them, and he has other things to do. Things that directly influence the survival of himself, his mate, and their Hatchling. 

Hatchling is back at their den, likely sleeping the day away in her nest, but Shiro isn't far away. It isn't often that they're separated, and that makes Keith feel comfortable and at ease. 

He rumbles an affectionate greeting, and the feeling floods his senses when Shiro responds by rubbing his face against Keith's neck, scenting him. 

Keith loves Shiro so much, with every part of him: from his large three-toed feet that will follow him to the ends of the earth, to his sharp teeth that will always fight for him, to his disproportionately short arms that exist only to hold his mate in the most intimate of moments. 

They walk together through the grasslands without any sense of urgency and when the opportunity arises, they dine together on a couple struthiomimus, and Shiro carries back another for Hatchling in his mouth. 

The good, ideal day comes to an abrupt end when they arrive back at their den and find Hatchling missing. 

Shiro drops the struthi carcass with a low whine, the sort meant to coax their offspring from hiding. But there's no movement, no chirps in response. 

Keith sniffs the air, catching her scent. He skips the threatening panicked emotion, settling immediately on  _ agitated,  _ the sort that won't diminish until he finds their Hatchling.

Following her scent, he stalks through the forest. He tracks her for a long time, long enough that it makes him angrier, as he quickly realizes this is much further than Hatchling's short legs could carry her, even if she were to prematurely venture from the nest. 

What he doesn't understand is how she got so far. It's a confusion that he can tell Shiro shares as well. 

Red hot anger floods through him when he hears the distressed cry from his daughter somewhere off in the distance. He returns the cry with his own roar, loud and affirming that they're coming for her.

And they're going to destroy whatever took her from them.

Her scent becomes stronger the closer they get, more poignant, Keith realizes because wherever she is, she's bleeding. 

The growl rumbling in Keith's throat doesn't stop even after he and Shiro emerge from the forested area to a clearing. Just ahead, there's one of the strange things he saw earlier, and he can hear Hatchling's cries from within it.

He and Shiro share a pointed look, and venture closer, positioning themselves on either side. They call out to their daughter, who answers with a strangled cry that quickly gets muffled. 

There's enough movement inside that he keenly sees the creatures within, surrounding Hatchling. He has particular thoughts about what he wants to do with them, but he needs her safe first. 

The moment she is freed from it, Shiro and Keith hover over her, comforting her and ensuring she's okay. She understands that the right thing to do is to settle in the long grasses out of the way while her parents rid their territory of this Threat. 

A few rumbles confirm they're in agreement: the thing that the kidnappers are within is going over the cliff and into the ocean. It only takes a few solid headbutts to send it halfway over and gravity starts to do the rest.

It's then that some of the other creatures make themselves heard. There are only one or two of them, but that's more than enough to be a nuisance. 

Shiro makes an imploding tone.  _ Snack? _

Keith cheerfully affirms.  _ Snack. _

Shiro bounds over grabbing one of the creatures by its shoulders and shakes it like one might a near-empty ketchup bottle. He's so perfect and the Best and when he throws the other half of the snack up in the air, Keith catches it and swallows it all down in one bite. Just as tasty as he thought it'd be.

Even more so now that they've proven just how much of a threat they are. 

The other creature has scattered somewhere, probably to rest of its herd, and while Keith is tempted to hunt it down, Shiro's rumbling keeps him in check. They must first get Hatchling back to her nest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here's the rest of it. thank you for indulging my silly au /)u(\ as always you can find me on twitter @/guineaDogs

Hatchling is safe and sound within her nest, content to feed on the meal her parents provided for her earlier. This is the only thing that matters– or it should be, but Keith finds himself unable to relax and settle down for the rest of the night. How can he? Hatchling got taken from them, got  _ hurt _ . They’re lucky they were able to rescue her when they did. In a dinosaur-eat-dinosaur world, there may not have been anything for them to bring back home. 

His mate is the only reason he’s able to calm down enough to get a semblance of shuteye. Shiro has a way of getting exactly what he wants from Keith. Still, it’s a sort of half-sleep, the sort that comes when exhaustion catches up with him, but he’s too uneasy, too on guard. There are few creatures on this island that pose a threat, and yet…

Keith’s sleep may be uneasy, but Shiro and Hatchling are safe beside him and are able to sleep more soundly, and that’s all that matters to him.

They rest, and with dawn comes a new day.

New days don’t do much to change Keith’s foul mood. He tries his best throughout, opting to nap through the heat of the day. Even past nightfall, though, his restless huffing and snorting isn’t enough to expel his built up tensions. As far as Keith is concerned, he has no choice but to leave. This time, Shiro doesn’t try to stop him. Instead, he nuzzles into Keith’s neck with an affirming rumble.  _ He’s coming too. _

Hatchling should be fine; they won’t be gone long. Having Shiro by his side is the best place for him to be. They’re a team, mates, and going on a little revenge spree will only make their bond stronger. 

At some point, the herd moved out of their territory. It’s smart of them; surely they anticipated that Keith and Shiro weren’t going to just let them get away with all they’d done. Disturbingly, they’re much easier to track than Keith initially anticipated, and the reason quickly makes itself known: 

The scent of Hatchling’s blood is still in the air, seemingly clinging to the ground, to the broad leaves of the plants around him, even in parts of the island Hatchling has never been to. That can only mean one thing: the creatures that hurt Hatchling are wearing the scent of her pain like a trophy. It makes Keith furious. 

It’s stuck in his nose, festering like an unwelcome reminder that he’s failed to protect his offspring. 

The only good thing is that the scent trail guides him right to where the herd of their enemy is resting for the night. There’s many of them, some sprawled out, resting atop the soft earth, others under a shelter. He might be unable to see them well with their stillness, but he can  _ smell _ them, and hear the rhythmic sounds of breathing.

That’s more than enough.

This is where he and Shiro part ways: he takes one side of the camp, and Shiro takes the other side.

Despite his large size, he’s capable of quietly moving throughout the encampment. Or perhaps these animals simply sleep deeply. It works to his advantage, so Keith doesn’t particularly care. He ventures further, step by step, until he finds where the remaining scent of Hatchling’s blood is the strongest.

His nostrils flare in recognition, but what his snout bumps against isn’t flesh, but feels like a sort of hide. With a clack of his teeth, he latches into it and tugs. But then there’s screams. It’s not that Keith is unused to the cries of fear and anguish from his prey. It most certainly makes the fresh kills significantly more entertaining. 

He’s just startled because they just happen to start screaming while he’s got his head shoved into a hide-shelter, which is already a little precarious. Keith straightens, intending to see exactly what is running and screaming around him, but the large hide comes with him, blocking him from seeing anything.

With a frustrated roar, he shakes his head, ridding himself from that particular visual obstruction. Now, aided by their running and the moonlight, Keith can see his enemies, scattering like a startled herd of Gallimimus. It makes them easy for the picking so he’s  _ extremely _ content to have a bite or ten. 

He can hear Shiro in the distance, raising hell of his own. It makes Keith’s chest swell with pride, and inspires him to indulge in his toothy rage and bloodlust. 

Keith is certain he’s making good time in teaching these creatures a lesson.

And then he’s falling, falling, and down for the count. The impact tremors permeate the ground around him. 

When he wakes, he’s restrained by something hard and uncomfortable, unclosed in a harder, colder place. The sounds are wrong, the smells are wrong. He can smell so  _ little _ that it’s disconcerting. Perhaps the restraints aren’t as secure as he first thought, or perhaps the sheer  _ panic _ gives him the boost of adrenaline he needs. Perhaps his captors did something to him—he doesn’t know, doesn’t care. 

The only thing that matters is that he’s able to pull free from his restraints and stand upright. There’s screaming enemy creatures around him again, and feeling famished, he immediately pins one down with his long claws. Leaning down, he rips off a bite and all but swallows it down. 

Another starts running up a set of stairs after pressing a button to open a hatch. Panels open, revealing a clear, blue sky.  _ Escape. _

Keith bounds up those steps as well, but quickly finds that there is no true escape from the cargo hold. He’s not on his island. He can’t even see a spec of green around him. He’s surrounded by water. Without his mate. Without his Hatchling. 

Just more of his small, screaming enemies.

* * *

**????  
** **2847 miles from Home**

Keith has learned two things. One: the doors that open, granting access from the cargo hold, can close. Two: if something enticing is thrown in a particular direction, he will chase after it. Which is how he ends up back in the cargo hold. 

He isn’t pleased about it, but he’s only become increasingly more enraged as time goes on. Time may not have much meaning to him, but he can understand what the varying amount of sunlight means, especially as his hunger grows. There’s not even a carcass to scavenge down in the cargo hold; anything like that is on the deck of the ship and he can’t get there.

But worst of all is his separation from Shiro and Hatchling. 

He doesn’t understand how he got separated. He doesn’t remember what happened. All he knows is that they are not here, and he doesn’t even know where  _ here _ is.

Keith is agitated, and the ship’s eventual collision with something doesn’t help matters. But eventually, the doors open and he’s able to burst out and make his escape. There’s part of him that expected for the doors to open and for Keith to find himself back home on his island.

But he’s never been more wrong. 

He’s somewhere new again.

This time, there’s ground, but it feels different underfoot. The trees are different with lights that illuminate the trunks. The wildlife consists solely of the same sort of small creatures who hurt Hatchling, and the larger not-food things that the creatures ride within. The smells are strange, the sounds are nothing he understands. He has no idea where he’s going, but he doesn’t linger in place. Keith  _ runs. _

He runs, and runs, and runs, driven by his need to survive, and related needs to secure food and water. Keith can’t let himself think about anything beyond that. Can’t let himself slow down enough to acknowledge that he has no idea how to find Shiro or Hatchling. He doesn’t know how to find his way home from here.

The moment he lets himself think about that is the moment all of this becomes too much for him.

The creatures around him scream. Sometimes he snatches one within reach up for a quick meal. Other times he screams back. Oh, they're scared? They don't want to be eaten? Poor, poor tiny creatures. Do they not understand how scared  _ he _ is? They aren't the ones displaced in a strange land, separated from the ones they love. 

It goes on like this well into the night, and Keith has made no progress in making sense of where he is or where he's going. 

Then he hears it. At first he doesn't believe it, can't make sense of it. But the sound repeats and there's no question about it. He's hearing Hatchling's cries. 

Keith turns, and he catches her scent in the air. It's the first time he's smelling and hearing something familiar. His mind races with  _ must protect, must protect, must protect. _

He can see her, crying mournfully in the arms of one of the creatures inside of a vehicle. How dare they lay a single claw upon her! 

The enemy takes off, speeding down a path. Keith roars, calling to Hatchling. His own fears don't matter, only hers, so he tries to assure her that she's going to be okay as he gives chase. 

He's going to save her. She's going to be okay. They both will, because he will stop at nothing to keep her safe and well. 

Keith runs as fast as his legs will carry him, roars as loudly as he can until his lungs scream in agony. But nothing matters but his determination to save his daughter.

He's going to save her. And then they're going to find Shiro. Because if he's here, if Hatchling's here, perhaps Shiro is somewhere too. And if the three of them can be reunited, the rest doesn't matter. 

Whatever comes their way, they can survive it if they're a united front.

The creatures lead him back to the ship. Maybe it's a trap, but he can hear Hatchling crying in the cargo hold. Trap or not, he has to follow after her. 

Hatchling is scared, whimpering as she tries to flee one of the pesky creatures in the cargo hold with her. But then Keith is there. Her cries stop when she sees him, soothed by both her father's presence and the soft rumble he offers her. 

The foolish creature tries to use the father-daughter reunion as an opportunity to escape. As if he can possibly sneak by Keith's watchful eye. 

This creature thought he could scare Hatchling, and just walk away? As if. 

Like any good parent, when Keith sees a learning opportunity, he seizes it. He catches the creature by his ankle, tossing him further into the cargo hold. 

He all but purrs at Hatchling. Coaxing, encouraging.  _ The creature is injured. Can't hurt you, I'll protect you. It's time to practice the hunt, Little One. _

Hatchling wags her tail, now distracted from everything that's scared her. After all, she's hungry, and her father has just presented her with a fun new game. 

The proudest moment of Keith's life is when he gets to watch her pounce. He just hopes they'll both have the opportunity to tell Shiro about her first kill. 

* * *

Keith ends up with another lapse in memory. Hatchling tells him he had a big sleep, and she just slept curled up beside him and fed on her kill while she waited for him to wake up.

He's groggy, but the longer he's awake, the more he can piece things together. They're in the cargo hold. The sounds and smells are the same as he remembers from before. 

It's with a cautious optimism that he lets himself believe  _ they're going home.  _

* * *

The movement through the ocean stops, the doors to the cargo hold open. Keith feels it this time. The pinch in his neck, then sudden and abrupt blackness. 

* * *

He awakes on the beach. The sun is high in the sky. He's surrounded by the familiar warmth of the sun, the sea salt. In this distance are the trees, the shrubs, and grasses he's known his whole life. 

Hatchling is curled up in the sand nearby, still resting. Keith gets to his feet, and though he feels a little woozy, it’s not so bad that he can’t lean down to nudge at her to wake. Her yawn is high pitched, and her simultaneous stretching is precious. Keith loves her.

She still seems tired and a little disoriented, so he coos at her, urging her to rest in his mouth. Just like that, he carries her like the precious cargo she is further into the island. With each step, he brings them both closer to home, closer to Shiro, and closer to the end of this adventure they didn’t want. 

Keith trudges through the jungle, along the usual path he and other large dinosaurs often take. The grasses are matted, the limbs of shrubs and fallen branches are broken and cover the ground. 

By the time they’ve reentered the edge of their territory, Hatchling is a little more alert. She’s a good, patient girl who doesn’t fuss. She’s happy to observe and watch the world around her as Keith carries her. 

He rumbles gently. Like this, he can’t call out for Shiro as he’d like. Hatchling understands, and is happy to do her part. She calls out for Shiro as loudly as her much smaller lungs allow. When Keith hears it returned with a mighty roar in the distance, his heart soars.

Picking up the pace, he heads in the direction of his mate’s call, eventually finding him heading in their direction once they came to a clearing. 

With a happy sway of his tail, Keith gently lets Hatchling down in the grass. Within moments, Shiro is there, pressing his snout against Hatchling’s, licking her, with sounds of  _ pure relief _ emanating from his throat. 

Shiro’s eyes then meet Keith’s, and Keith feels himself breaking in the best way. He has so much to tell him, but right now all he wants is the comfort of having Shiro close, to be enveloped in his scent and feel safe. Keith tucks his face against Shiro’s neck, nuzzling him. 

He’s determined to let his mate know how much he was missed, how much he was needed. It’s quite a display as Shiro enthusiastically does the same. They’re reunited; their family is together, safe, whole, and with Hatchling eager to show her dad the new things she’s learned. 

They’ll be okay, and together.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter @ guineaDogs for more sheith shenanigans


End file.
